Weekly birding round-up: 14 May - 20 May 2024
Autumn 2023 really is the gift that just keeps on giving, as was amply demonstrated this past week with a simply stunning American passerine found in Co.Durham, presumably months after it made its transatlantic crossing. Conditions meanwhile were just right for a decent fall of northbound European scarcities, with the east coast and Shetland in particular enjoying the spoils. And then, just as the week was winding down, Cornwall pulled a big one out of the bag…
Those of us of a certain vintage will remember the excitement engendered by the arrival, in 1988, of blue Smarties. This was big news. We may not have got the flying cars we’d been promised by The Jetsons but, by god, chocolate now came with an eye-searing blue coating. This was The Future, and it tasted… well, to be honest it tasted like normal Smarties and, by 2006, Nestlé had axed the blue Smartie.
But back to the 1980s. If blue Smarties were a vision of the future in 1988, we’d already had a tantalising glimpse of the birding possibilities in that regard when Ireland landed an Indigo Bunting on Cape Clear (Co.Cork) on 9th-19th October 1985. We had to wait our turn before our first British bird, another longish stayer, settling on Ramsey (Pembrokeshire) on 18th-26th October 1996.
A first for Britain certainly. But just like the Irish bird, an autumnal bird, with just a smoky hint of the blue that might come in due course should either survive the winter ahead on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Just imagine how a spring bird might look…
It took almost 20 years before we got an idea of that, albeit not a twitchable bird – a one-day affair at Llandsadwrn (Anglesey), a male on 20th May 2013, identified from photographs a couple of days after the event. The itch continued to go unscratched…
Then, in 2020, a reprise of 1996 – an island bird, in October, a first-winter individual this time on St Agnes (Scilly) on 25th-26th October 2020.
It’s perhaps no surprise that, if there was going to be a proper blue spring male in Britain again, it would come in the wake of the astonishing autumn of 2023, a time when it seemed like the pages of Sibley were showering the passerines of our dreams upon us.
We’ve been saying for months now that we were surely due another outrageous hangover from that heady period – we’ve enjoyed wintering Northern Waterthrush and Myrtle Warbler after all – but who saw this one coming? Certainly not the astounded finder, Peter Bell, when he glanced up from his kitchen table in Whitburn (Co.Durham) on 18th to see a bright blue passerine jostling for space with his resident garden Tree Sparrows at the bird feeders outside the window!
You can read Peter's finder's account here
But there it was. A first-summer, electric blue male Indigo Bunting - only the fourth of its kind for Britain, the first truly mainland bird, a remarkable garden tick for Peter, and by a country mile the most twitchable example of its kind we’re ever likely to get.
Inevitably, when a bird’s as colourful as this, there will be naysayers who doubt its provenance. Call it the Hooded Merganser Effect. Sometimes a bird is just too pretty for its own good. A drab female Hooded Merganser in early winter in Kent has (rightly or wrongly…) a feel-good factor about it. A gaudy male in spring in East Anglia has (also rightly or wrongly) got some more work to do.
As with ducks, so with colourful finches and buntings. A dingy first-winter bird on a Welsh island in October raises few eyebrows. An eye-popping blue male in May on the northeast coast is bound to attract some cynical detractors.
But should it? Surely context is all. There’s ample precedent of Nearctic passerines being found in Britain heading north in spring. And this past week or so, there’s some European context that’s specific to this week’s Co.Durham Indigo Bunting - additional records from Denmark’s Skagen on 9th, and in Iceland at Nesjahverfi on 19th.
Still present (and singing) in Whitburn on 20th, what’s not to like about what’s surely Britain’s fourth acceptable Indigo Bunting? One thing’s for sure. Plenty of birders are choosing to take the blue pill, to believe what they want to believe, well in advance of a decision by the BBRC.
Speaking of birds that have courted their share of controversy, we don’t need to look far from the time of Britain’s first Indigo Bunting for another bird that split the jury of public and official opinion. In 1999-2000 a pale morph Booted Eagle toured Ireland and Britain, drawing particular attention from British birders when it settled for a while in Cornwall in the autumn period.
At the time, much was made by its detractors of the hoary old chestnut that the English Channel was an insurmountable barrier to northbound eagle passage. That, as we now have firmly established with not only multiple Short-toed Eagles, but also various vultures, is clearly a nonsense. A more formal assessment of the record, however, undertaken by, amongst others, BOURC cast the bird into Category D of the British List – the arrival date, duration of stay, and state of plumage were considered to weigh against it and, while rare in captivity, Booted Eagle was apparently not entirely a stranger to an aviary.
All that said, there are still plenty of folk who, whether they saw the bird in question or not, still to this day would beg to disagree with that verdict.
However, there have to be rules and some sort of adjudication process in this list-maintenance game, and BOURC is a heck of a lot better than a one-man, one-jury system. And heaven knows the court of public opinion is far from infallible. So the wait for another, cast iron, BOURC oven-ready record has dragged on ever since.
And heaven knows we’ve had some birds reported. Several from Kent, and other counties besides, down the years. None, however, have made the grade. There’ve been some Common Buzzards, and some birds that simply slipped through their finders’ fingers. The burden of proof for a first for Britain, these digital days, is justifiably high.
Maybe, just maybe, we’ve finally cleared the bar this week. News broke on the morning of 20th of a possible dark morph Booted Eagle seen going south past Sennen (Cornwall). A couple of hours later, around midday, confirmation – a dark morph bird had been seen passing Cape Cornwall that morning, heading south. A couple more hours elapsed before the bird was seen again, now heading east over Morvah Quoit.
The time of year feels good for a wayward eagle, and there’s also the small matter of the contemporaneous arrival in Cornwall of multiple Black Kite on 20th. Let’s wait and see if a) selfishly, the Booted Eagle becomes remotely twitchable and if, b) crucially, it passes muster in the fullness of time with BOURC.
Back in the news once more, the adult Double-crested Cormorant was logged again at Colgagh Lough (Co.Sligo) on 18th.
A couple of White-billed Divers were noted this week – one heading north past Embo (Highland & Caithness) in the evening of 15th, and another seen in Bluemull Sound (Shetland) on 17th. A final bird was reported off Bigton (Shetland) on 20th.
Around 30 Pomarine Skua were seen nationwide this week, with a peak count of five birds off Dawlish Warren NNR (Devon) on 14th.
The English southwest also boasted a couple of Balearic Shearwater sightings, both in Dorset this week – one on 14th off Ferrybridge, and another on 16th from nearby Portland.
Finally, four Wilson’s Petrel were reported on 19th at sea off Cape Clear (Co.Cork).
Pick of the long-legged beasties this week has to be the female Little Bittern seen on Shetland Mainland in the evening of 18th. Serendipitously found initially by local crofter Shirley Leslie when it scampered across the road in front of her and settled in a clump of daffodils on the verge, this is just the fourth latter-day, post-1950 record of the species, and comes some five years after the archipelago’s last bird, a four-day bird that settled on Foula in June 2019.
The last three Shetland Little Bittern have all been reasonably long-staying birds, varying between four and nineteen days in duration of tenure, and there’s little reason to think this latest bird will be any different – however, whether it’s seen again is a very different matter, given the abundance of suitable cover in the area of Brow Marsh. At the time of writing, there’s been no further sign of it…
If this bird was locally significant, it was firmly cast into shadow by the week’s other Little Bittern, found in Co.Wexford at Tacumshin on 19th. Little Bittern is a considerably rarer kettle of fish in Ireland than it is in a British context, with barely 60 accepted birds to date. While Co.Wexford accounts for a good many of those – eleven, to be precise – just five date from post-1950, and the most recent was way back on 30th April 1994, a one-day bird on Great Saltee. Another chance to see a bird in Co.Wexford would, doubtless, be greatly appreciated. This week’s bird, sound-recorded at Tacumshin overnight on 19th, wasn’t that bird. The wait for another to give itself up goes on…
Three widely scattered Night Heron were seen this past week – one in Surrey at Cobham on 14th; another on 14th in Co.Cork at Skibbereen; and a further bird on 18th at Topsham (Devon).
Some 10 Purple Heron were also seen in recent days, with Stodmarsh NNR (Kent) the national hotspot – three birds were present here on 15th. Elsewhere, one remained in Suffolk at Minsmere RSPB on 14th-16th; another was seen on 14th at Burnham Overy Staithe (Norfolk); on 15th, Somerset sightings came from Ham Wall RSPB and Shapwick Heath NNR; other birds on 15th were seen at Rye Harbour NR (East Sussex), and Bembridge Harbour (Isle of Wight); a bird was noted on 16th at Kenfig Pool NNR (Gwent); a possible was seen over Grimsby (Lincolnshire) on 17th; and on 18th birds were logged at Slapton Sands (Devon) and Cley (Norfolk). Back in Kent, on 19th, a bird was seen at Worth Marsh RSPB.
A handful of settled Glossy Ibis continued to feature in the daily news. Surely in the fullness of time we’ll learn what the unreported birds have been up to… This week, singletons remained at Hollesley Marshes RSPB (Suffolk) on 15th-19th; Cley (Norfolk) on 14th-19th and at Ken Hill Marsh (Norfolk) on 15th and 18th; Deeping Lakes LWT (Lincolnshire) on 17th-19th; and at Caerleon (Gwent) on 14th-15th. Two birds remained at Steart WWT (Somerset) on 15th-17th. Further single birds were seen in Gloucestershire in the wider Pilning Wetland and Slimbirdge WWT area on 16th and again on 18th, at Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire) on 17th-20th, and on 19th at Sweeney Wetlands (Cheshire & Wirral). On 19th a roving Norfolk bird was noted over Weybourne Camp and Sheringam, and a singleton was at Stiffkey on 20th. On 20th, in Suffolk one was present at Boyton Marshes RSPB.
A couple of Corncrake were heard singing at Welney WWT (Norfolk) on 15th-17th; while multiple Spotted Crake were singing at Wheldrake Ings (North Yorkshire) on 14th-16th.
With the weekly honkers again clouded by the feral miasma of multiple Snow Geese, we’ll stick to presumably less controversial fare – the Red-breasted Goose still present in Lincolnshire at Frampton Marsh RSPB on 14th-20th; and one still present at Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 14th.
A drake Blue-winged Teal made a fleeting appearance at Chamberhouse Marsh (Berkshire) on 17th – present that evening for just long enough to allow county birders a chance to connect, but absent the following day, alas. Only the third county record, and the first since 1990, this was a Berkshire bird of some serious calibre.
A Green-winged Teal was seen on Unst (Shetland) on 14th; and another remained in the islands on Mainland at Setter Marsh on 16th. A final bird for the week was seen on 20th at Kilnsea Wetlands NR (East Yorkshire).
The American Wigeon remained on Islay (Argyll & Bute) on 14th-19th.
A drake Black Duck attracted some interest and analysis this week – found at Skinflats Lagoons RSPB (Forth) on 14th, and still present on 20th, it looked the business until it spread its wings, at which point the extent of the white margins on the speculum began to come into play – were they within the bounds of acceptability for Black Duck, or did they suggest some Mallard shenanigans in the bird’s ancestry?
In Warwickshire, the drake Ferruginous Duck remained at Napton Reservoir on 16th-19th.Six Ring-necked Duck were noted in recent days. Starting in the north, a drake was sitting tight at Loch of Hillwell (Shetland) on 15th-20th; another drake was seen on Great Bernera (Western Isles) on 16th; the drake was again seen on Bodenham Lake (Herefordshire) on 17th; the drake remained on Slapton Ley (Devon) on 18th-20th; the drake was still on Llyn Brenig (Denbighshire) on 19th-20th; and a drake was found on 19th at Friar’s Island (Co.Galway).
The recent first-winter drake Surf Scoter remained off Mull (Argyll & Bute) on 14th-17th.
We’ll begin the weekly waders in Cambridgeshire, where one of the week’s most popular birds resided – a first-summer American Golden Plover present at Coveney Byall Fen on 14th-19th. Further birds were found in recent days at Dawlish Warren NNR (Devon) on 14th, on South Uist (Western Isles) on 18th-19th, and on Papa Westray (Orkney) on 19th-20th.
The final full day of Corncrake and Skuas trip today. What we lacked in skuas was made up in quality birding with a sky-dancing Hen Harrier at Loch Eynort (plus a Clouded Border moth) and a very smart American Golden Plover on the Range, South Uist. pic.twitter.com/cRfohSHbmm
— Steve Duffield (@WiWildlife) May 18, 2024
Speaking of local popularity, a Dotterel at Bignor Hill (West Sussex) on 15th-17th was certainly ticking some boxes too. Other birds this week were noted on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 15th; Bryher (Scilly) on 17th; and at The Cheviot (Northumberland) on 18th.
In Lincolnshire, the first-summer female Black-winged Stilt remained at Frampton Marsh RSPB on 14th-20th; and another was found on 19th at Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB (Cambridgeshire). The latter, presumably, accounted for both sightings on 20th in Cambridgeshire at Berry Fen and Ouse Fen RSPB.
The week was a solid one for Temminck’s Stint, with around 30 birds in all noted nationwide. Several sites scored multiple birds – duos were present at Cley NWT (Norfolk) on 14th-15th; Newton Scrapes (Northumberland) on 15th-19th, and Shotton Pools (Northumberland) on 16th-20th; Aldeburgh Town Marshes (Suffolk) on 16th; and Clifton Pits (Worcestershire) on 19th, and Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 19th-20th. Three birds were seen at Stiffkey Fen (Norfolk) on 16th-17th.
Wayward Pectoral Sandpiper were found this week in Aberdeenshire at Collieston on 14th-16th; on South Uist (Western Isles) on 15th-20th; on the Skellig Islands (Co.Kerry) on 18th; and at Potter Heigham Marshes (Norfolk) on 19th-20th.
Finally, the Lesser Yellowlegs remained at Frampton Marsh RSPB (Lincolnshire) on 14th-15th; and another was seen at Harper’s Island (Co.Cork) on 18th.
It’s that time of year when we flip the gulls n terns and start proceedings with the latter, where most of the interest lies at this juncture.
Not least, this week, in Northumberland, where the adult surinamensis American Black Tern was back again at Long Nanny on 15th and 17th-20th. A welcome return, especially after so many terns around the British coast succumbed to avian influenza last year.
An adult White-winged Black Tern was a fine bird for Leighton Moss RSPB (Lancashire & North Merseyside) on 15th.
In Co.Mayo the Elegant Tern remained on Inis Doire on 14th-15th.
A possible, distant, Caspian Tern was seen off Frinton-on-Sea (Essex) on 17th.
On 18th a Gull-billed Tern was seen in Somerset at Shapwick Heath NNR. This, presumably, also accounts for the bird found the following day at Greylake RSPB.
Decent gulls were in fairly short supply lately, the best of them being a fine Bonaparte’s Gull on Unst (Shetland) on 14th-15th, and a first-summer bird in Norfolk at Holmebridge on 14th.
The adult Ring-billed Gull remained in Perth & Kinross on Loch Turret on 15th still.
Scotland gave us a handful of Glaucous Gull this week – on North Uist (Western Isles) on 14th; on Tiree (Argyll & Bute) on 15th; on Orkney, on Westray on 15th-16th, and Mainland on 16th; and at Fort George (Highland & Caithness) on 19th.
Shetland Mainland provided our first Iceland Gull of the week, a bird seen on 18th at Quendale. Additional birds were found over the weekend on 19th at Portballintrae (Co.Antrim) still, and over Boldon Flats NR (Co.Durham).
Another week, still more Pallid Harriers. It’s incredible to compare the state of play of the present day with events some 30 years ago when, in 1995, the biggest news of that spring and early summer was the lingering presence of a male bird, paired with a Hen Harrier, on Orkney. That was only the ninth ever British record. And here we are now, in 2024, with the species not only an anticipated autumnal migrant to these shores but, incredibly, a weekly fixture this year in the news. Which brings us neatly to this week, with birds noted on 14th in Shetland on Mainland at Channerwick and Southpunds and, in Essex, at Shoeburyness; on 18th near Scarborough at East Ayton (North Yorkshire); and, on 20th, at Burton Fleming (East Yorkshire).
The week was a fairly busy one for Montagu’s Harrier, pushing towards double figures of sightings by the close of play. One remained in Somerset around Greylake RSPB on 14th-19th; additional birds were seen on 15th at Brooks End (Kent) and Westleton Common (Suffolk); a probable on 14th on Lundy (Devon); on 16th at Cley NWT (Norfolk), Broom GPs (Bedfordshire), and Magdalen Hill Down (Hampshire); on 19th at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk); and on 19th-20th at Tacumshin (Co.Wexford).
A ringtail, either Pallid or Montagu’s, was seen on 19th at Minsmere RSPB (Suffolk). Another undetermined bird was seen on 20th over Brimham Rocks (North Yorkshire).
A Black Kite was seen on 15th at Newstead & Annesley CP (Nottinghamshire), with another reported that day at Otmoor RSPB (Oxfordshire); probables were seen on 14th at Ponteland (Northumberland), and on 18th at Weston (Hertfordshire); and a confirmed bird over Praa Sands (Cornwall) on 19th. The latter was just a shot across the Cornish bows for what was to follow on 20th – the arrival of multiple (at least four) birds in the county. Four were seen at Polgigga alone; duos at Land’s End and St Buryan; and singles at Ventonleague, Porthgwarra, and Penzance.
A male Red-footed Falcon was again seen at Worth Marsh (Kent) on 18th-19th, with a first-summer male also on 18th-20th at Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB (Cambridgeshire).
There were rarer passerines found this week, but the news was completely owned by Red-backed Shrike, with a fall of their kind for the ages experienced on the east coast and, in particular, on Shetland. The week began quietly, with Shetland scoring two birds on 14th, one apiece for Out Skerries and Fetlar. On 15th, another Shetland bird on Unst, two on North Ronaldsay (Orkney), and a mainland bird at Sands of Forvie NNR (Aberdeenshire). On 16th, 30 birds were logged nationwide and then, on 17th, all hell broke loose – some 125 birds were noted across Britain. North Ronaldsay bagged 18 birds, a spectacular haul, but eclipsed somewhat by Shetland and Fair Isle in particular. Around 100 birds were seen in the archipelago as a whole on 17th – and how many went unseen? – with Fair Isle alone notching up 32 birds. St Mary’s (Scilly) also enjoyed a male bird on 17th. Birds continued to be seen throughout Shetland throughout 18th, doubtless some being new birds but others surely examples that had been noted the previous day nearby. Some, certainly, were lingering – your own correspondent, at the time of writing on 20th, has two birds right outside the window busily nailing Silver Y moths and Moss Carder bumblebees in the garden, settled here since 17th. The love spread on 18th with more mainland British birds discovered, including a peak count of eight on Holy Island (Northumberland).
Other shrikes were also available. The Woodchat remained at Mullion Cove (Cornwall) on 14th-16th; and further birds were found on Lundy (Devon) on 14th, on Folkestone Downs (Kent) on 18th, and also in Kent at Dungeness RSPB on 19th.
In sharp contrast to all of those Red-backed Shrike, Wryneck were harder to come by, their time seemingly past. In Shetland, Fair Isle held at least one bird on 14th-17th, with two confirmed there on 15th; and one was found on Unst on 17th. Our only other example was found in London at Chiswick on 14th.
Northern England gave us Hoopoe near Glossop (Derbyshire) on 15th, and trapped and ringed at an undisclosed Shropshire site on 16th. Another was found on 16th in Limerick (Co.Limerick).
Around 15 Bee-eater were seen and/or heard this week, with a few sites notching up more than a singleton to their credit – two were seen at Kingsdown (Kent) on 15th; two at The Lizard (Cornwall) on 16th; and two at Hengistbury Head (Cornwall) on 16th also.
There was a westerly bias to our Alpine Swift this week, with single birds noted on 14th over Bardsey (Gwynedd), and on 16th at Porthgwarra (Cornwall).
Porthgwarra also scored a Red-rumped Swallow on 16th, with another found later in the week on St Mary’s (Scilly).
A Waxwing was a late surprise on Scilly on 18th, being seen on Bryher that day, and again on 19th. Another was present on Lewis (Western Isles) on 20th.
Scilly also did well for Golden Oriole, with St Mary’s and Tresco alike enjoying birds in the course of the week. Lundy (Devon) was particularly blessed, boasting three birds on there on 17th. Overall, a shade over a dozen were noted nationwide, with some seen as far north at North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 18th, and Yell (Shetland) on 18th-19th.
On 18th-19th, a Short-toed Lark was found on Blakeney Point (Norfolk); another was found on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 20th.
Where Red-backed Shrike go at this time of year, we can usually expect Marsh Warbler to follow, and so it proved this week, with a decent fall of the latter down the east coast, a Shetland bias echoing the pattern of the main fall of the former species. Overall, some 25 birds were found this week, with some sites gathering multiple birds – Fair Isle (Shetland) had four present on the island on 17th and 19th; while elsewhere in Shetland duos were noted on Fetlar on 16th, Out Skerries on 17th and 19th, Yell on 17th; and on Mainland at Quendale on 18th.
A possible Blyth’s Reed Warbler on Fetlar was just a little too shy to allow certainty on 17th – more, though, are surely in the pipeline in the coming fortnight.
This week, however, was the domain of Great Reed Warbler, with four of this magnificent croaker found in England. One was heard at Abbotsbury (Dorset) on 14th; and further singing birds were then found at Idle Valley NR (Nottinghamshire) on 16th, Staveley YWT (North Yorkshire) on 16th, and at Ouse Fen RSPB (Cambridgeshire) on 17th-20th.
I had two helpings of the Ouse Fen Great Reed Warbler today, morning and afternoon, as it was so local! ?? Lovely to hear it sing away and it showed frequently. A smashing find by @HannahBernie! @CambsBirdClub pic.twitter.com/Euli0SNkUU
— Rachel Lennard (@rachel_lennard) May 17, 2024
Thirteen Icterine Warbler were found this week, all bar two in Shetland – the latter being birds at Gibraltar Point NNR (Lincolnshire) on 17th-18th, and at St Abb’s Head (Borders) on 18th. A Melodious Warbler was found in Kent at Dungeness on 14th-15th.
A Dusky Warbler was reported from Maryculter (Aberdeenshire) on 15th. Also in the realm of the more ephemeral, a possible Western Bonelli’s Warbler was reported from near Bolton-on-Swale (North Yorkshire) on 18th, but couldn’t be relocated subsequently.
A female Subalpine Warbler sp was reported from Whalsay (Shetland) on 15th; another was present on Lundy (Devon) on 17th-18th.
A male Eastern Subalpine Warbler was trapped and ringed on Bardsey (Gwynedd) on 17th.
Singing Savi’s Warblers remained at Egleton NR (Leicestershire) on 14th-20th, and North Cave Wetlands YWT (East Yorkshire) on 15th-20th; and another was to be heard at Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 16th-18th.
Bluethroats continued to delight this week, particularly in Scotland, where both Fair Isle (Shetland) and Isle of May (Fife) enjoyed multiple birds – Fair Isle peaking with four present on 17th, and Isle of May with three on 17th also. Indeed, the only non-Scottish individuals out of the 17 logged nationwide this week were the returning white-spotted individual still present in Gloucestershire at Slimbridge WWT on 16th-20th, and a red-spotted bird at South Gare (Cleveland) on 19th.
A small fall of Thrush Nightingale variously delighted and induced a tiny cringe as the ‘sprosser’ sobriquet was self-consciously dusted off anew. Shetland birds were found at Hillwell on 16th-17th, and Cunningsburgh on 16th-17th also; one was trapped and ringed on North Ronaldsay (Orkney) on 17th; and another found on Blakeney Point (Norfolk) on 18th.
Shetland also landed a couple of Red-breasted Flycatchers, one apiece for Unst on 17th, and Mainland at Grutness on 20th, the latter a short-lived affair when it fell prey to a local cat. A further bird was found at Fife Ness (Fife) on 17th.
Various flavours of Yellow Wagtail were again noted this week – around a dozen Blue-headed Wagtail, including duos at Aldeburgh Town Marshes (Suffolk) on 18th, and Out Skerries (Shetland) on 17th; a Grey-headed Wagtail at Collieston (Aberdeenshire) on 16th-17th, with a possible at Saltholme RSPB (Cleveland) on 16th-18th; and a probable Spanish Wagtail at Marazion RSPB (Cornwall) on 12th-15th.
A male Citrine Wagtail was seen at Lancing (West Sussex) on 15th.
A handful of Common Rosefinch were found this past week – two present on Fair Isle (Shetland) on 14th, with one still there on 15th-16th; one at Kilnsea (East Yorkshire) on 15th; two present on Fetlar (Shetland) on 16th; one on St Kilda (Western Isles) on 17th; and a bird on Shetland Mainland at Scatness on 18th.
A probable Black-headed Bunting was noted in flight over Folkestone’s North Downs (Kent) on 19th.
Finally, a singing Serin was at Tortington (West Sussex) on 18th.
As alluded to in the headlines, let’s start with overseas American passerines that set the scene for our very own Indigo Bunting this week. We’ve news of one in Denmark at Skagen on 9th; and another found in Iceland on 19th at Nesjahverfi.
In Finland, meanwhile, a Slate-coloured Junco was found at Bosund on 20th.
France sported a handful of decent birds this week – an at-sea Green Heron off L’Ile d’Yeu on 15th, an African Royal Tern at Jard-sur-Mer on 19th, and a Ruppell’s Vulture over Saint-Felix-de-Rieutord on 15th.
Speaking of vultures… In Morocco, at Jbel Moussah, four Ruppell’s Vulture on 15th-18th were joined there by initially two White-backed Vulture on 15th, rising to three birds by 18th.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, an Egyptian Vulture was seen at Limburg on 16th.
Finally, in Israel, the Yellow-billed Stork was still present at Eilat on 17th-20th.
Given the week just gone, glittering with rarities of the highest order, it doesn’t seem so outrageous to shoot firmly for the stars again in the coming days.
After all, three recent European Indigo Bunting speak volumes about the aftermath of last autumn’s unprecedented European fall of Nearctic passerines. Surely something else northbound and colourful could pop out of the woodwork before May’s done with us?
While the thought of a lysergic wood warbler is an irresistible one, we also have to pay attention to precedent, and half a dozen past accepted White-throated Sparrows are a mute but meaningful reminder that now is a propitious time to bump into one on this side of the pond.
Jon Dunn
21 May 2024
Many thanks to all this week's contributors for your photos and videos
Share
